SERVING SME CLIENTS Presented by: Saad & Salman

INTRODUCTION
Meeting the needs of existing clients
Cultivating new business (Cross Selling)
Managing risk
Building Relationships
 KEY CHALLENGES
SMEs have unique demands and value personal and attentive service
meeting these demands can be costly given the frequency of contact
required and the potentially lower revenue earned per client
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SMEs place a high priority on being perceived as a valued customer by the
bank.
SMEs value simplicity, convenience, and quick service
Cannot treat SMEs entirely as retail customers
SMEs may come to a bank with a broader set of needs than a large
corporation would
APPROACHES
direct delivery channels
segmenting and redefining relationship management
turning demands into opportunities through cross selling
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banks branch network as a direct delivery channel
availability of personal contact
SME demand for proximity
call centers and Internet banking
specialized staff to serve SMEs
dedicate entire branches to serve SMEs
CROSS SELLING
Banks use client size or income of the bank as a means to determine whether and
what type of RM should be assigned to an account.
Banks may use client income to the bank to divide SMEs between junior and senior
managers.
The hunter and farmer model described earlier helps banks increase the number of
clients a RM can serve, by freeing these managers from client acquisition
responsibilities.
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Whereas a traditional RM might dedicate more time to evaluating collateral or collections,
these functions are now often performed by dedicated teams.
This enables the RM to focus on client service and cross selling, which are often one and the
same.
An effective RM can convey a sense of importance to a small or medium enterprise and
increase sales volume by becoming its trusted partner.
The ability to understand and offer solutions to a full set of SME needs can be the difference
between a profitable and unprofitable service model.
Deeply understanding the customer also enables RMs to foresee and even prevent problems
with existing loans.
For this reason, most banks also include loan monitoring as a key responsibility of RMs. (For
instance, 100 percent of Benchmarking banks do so for the medium enterprise segment.)
STEPS TO EXCELLENCE
1. Finding and institutionalizing ways to convey customer worth without investing
additional labor in individual SMEs
2. Further refining service segmentation
3. Moving SME operations from a product orientation to a customer process
orientation
by designating space or special queues within branches for SME clients.
Clearly branding SME-specific solutions in marketing materials and Web sites.
The bank also illustrates another way to institutionalize client value through customer
process orientation, by specifically hiring former small business owners and managers
as SME banking specialists.
One expert estimates that 40 percent of the banks RMs come from the ranks of SMEs
themselves. These tactics convey the banks commitment to SMEs and improve its
ability to meet SME needs, without necessarily increasing the cost of individual client
interactions.
3 Lessons from Standard Chartereds Experience
1. Separation and dedication By explicitly separating its SME business and dedicating staff and
strategic resources across its global operations, Standard Chartered can locate opportunities,
reduce costs, and increase customer satisfaction.
2. 2. Differentiation On the front-end, Standard Chartered serves SMEs as one segment, but on the
back-end, its differentiated policies enable them to streamline underwriting and service processes
in line with customer value.
3. 3. Gender inclusiveness Standard Chartered is committed to meeting the needs and aspirations
of women in its staff, communities of operation, and client portfolio, including female-headed SMEs.